The Laiva open-pit gold mine in Raahe, Finland, has been without production for almost 5 years. Its owner, Laiva Gold, is now preparing a listing on a Canadian growth exchange and wants to raise almost EUR 4 million. Questions about financing, profitability and environmental permits remain unresolved.
The owner of the Laiva gold mine in Raahe – known as Brahestad in Swedish – plans to list the company on the Canadian Securities Exchange, CSE. Laiva Gold says it is targeting September 2026 for the proposed listing.
The plans have been postponed several times in recent years. Before joining the exchange, the company is attempting to raise a further CAD 6 million, equivalent to just under EUR 4 million, from investors.
If the listing is completed, the shares are expected to trade under the ticker SISU. The name refers to the Finnish concept associated with determination, resilience and perseverance.
The CSE is not Canada’s main stock exchange. It is primarily a marketplace through which smaller and early-stage companies can access risk capital. Mining and mineral-exploration companies account for a significant part of its listings.
A stock-market listing would not, by itself, allow the mine to reopen. It would provide a platform on which the shares could be traded and through which the company might raise additional capital. Restarting production would require substantially more: functioning equipment, working capital, the necessary permits and an operation capable of covering its costs.
Gold production stopped in 2021
Production at the Laiva mine ended in 2021. The site has therefore been without commercial gold output for almost 5 years, although preparatory work for a possible restart has continued.
Laiva Gold has, among other measures, pumped water from the open pit. The mine nevertheless has a complicated history involving several owners, financial difficulties and recurring environmental issues.
Mining began in 2012, but the operation has not achieved stable profitability over a sustained period. The mined ore has a relatively low gold grade, meaning that large volumes of rock must be extracted, transported and processed to recover the metal.
A low-grade mine is particularly sensitive to the cost of electricity, diesel, chemicals, labour and maintenance. Changes in the gold price and currency exchange rates can also have a substantial effect on its economic performance.
Around 2,800 kilograms of gold have been produced at Raahe since operations began, according to Laiva Gold’s investor material. This represents a considerable gross metal value but does not reveal how much it cost to extract and process the gold.
Former owner Otso Gold entered corporate restructuring. Ownership was initially transferred to Pilar Gold in autumn 2022. Laiva Gold became the owner in spring 2023 following an internal reorganisation.
Corporate restructuring allows a company’s debts and payment terms to be renegotiated to avoid bankruptcy. It may give an operation another opportunity, but it does not automatically resolve its technical, environmental or economic difficulties.
Company highlights large production potential
Laiva Gold says the previous problems have been addressed and that the mine could restart in 2027. The initial target is annual production of around 1,500 kilograms of gold, later rising to more than 2,000 kilograms.
Achieving these volumes would represent a substantial change from the mine’s earlier performance. The figures are the company’s own projections and depend on financing, permitting, mining and mineral processing proceeding as planned.
In its investor marketing, Laiva Gold draws attention to what it describes as the project’s considerable future value. The company has compared the opportunity with Rupert Resources’ Ikkari gold discovery in Finnish Lapland.
Ikkari was sold to Canadian mining group Agnico Eagle in 2026 in a transaction worth close to EUR 2 billion. Agnico Eagle already operates Europe’s largest gold mine at Kittilä in northern Finland.
The comparison may attract investor attention, but the projects are at different stages and have different geological, economic and permitting conditions. The Ikkari purchase price is therefore not a direct indication of the Laiva mine’s value.
The commercial value of a gold deposit is not determined solely by the estimated quantity of gold underground. Ore grade, mining costs, waste-rock volumes, recovery rates at the processing plant and the investment required to reach production are equally important.
Laiva Gold’s ongoing financing round is presented in an investor video as a final opportunity to participate before the planned listing. Such an investment could generate substantial gains if the project succeeds, but it also involves significant risk if the listing, permits or restart are delayed.
The planned capital raise of almost EUR 4 million should consequently be viewed as one financing stage rather than proof that the full restart has been funded. A mine that has stood idle for several years may require repairs, replacement equipment and additional working capital before it can generate revenue.
Environmental permit remains uncertain
One of the main unresolved questions concerns the mine’s environmental permit. The matter is before Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court, meaning that the final conditions governing continued operations have not yet been determined.
Laiva Gold has also announced its intention to apply for a new environmental permit. According to CEO Seppo Tuovinen, the application is planned for around the turn of 2026–2027.
In its current investor material, the company says operations would continue either under a new permit or under an authorisation based on the existing permit. The wording indicates that the final regulatory route has not yet been established.
An environmental permit regulates matters including discharges to water and air, noise, mining waste, water management and monitoring of the operation’s environmental effects. Before a mine restarts after an extended shutdown, the authorities may also need to determine whether its earlier technical solutions still satisfy current requirements.
The Canadian listing is therefore only one step in a longer process. Laiva Gold must first complete the planned financing and stock-market admission. It would then still need to finance the restart, resolve its permit position and demonstrate that production can become economically sustainable.
For Raahe, a successful reopening could create jobs and increase demand for local contractors and services. For investors, however, Laiva Gold remains a high-risk mining proposition in which the potential for renewed gold production must be weighed against the mine’s previous losses, environmental uncertainties and continuing requirement for capital.
Sources: Yle, Laiva Gold investor information and information from the Canadian Securities Exchange.
